Khadar Hassan sat down at a Clarkston restaurant for his favorite meal of rice and goat meat, recouping his energy before an overnight drive to Baltimore.
The Somali-born trucker, who had just arrived from Texas, has been driving coast-to-coast since 2011 and prides himself on his clean record: zero accidents and just one ticket in nearly 15 years in the industry.
But Hassan hasn’t been able to ignore the growing stress rippling through the community of immigrant drivers following an executive order in April by President Donald Trump reviving strict enforcement of English-language proficiency requirements for commercial truckers.
Under the new requirements, drivers must complete a two-part test demonstrating functional English proficiency in roadside inspections.
Drivers who fail the assessment can’t drive until they can pass the test — a rule that had been sidelined since 2016.
While some in the trucking industry see the renewed enforcement as necessary to enhance safety and communication, foreign-born drivers worry their careers could be in jeopardy if they’re unfairly penalized by arbitrary inspections.
“Some people have a strong accent. So if the officer doesn’t understand you, whatever you’re telling him, your chance of him telling you, ‘I can’t understand,’ it will be very high,” said Hassan.
In addition to identifying three out of four common traffic signs in English, drivers must converse and answer questions from an officer without the help of an interpreter.
Hassan said officers have too much discretion when evaluating conversations. “He’s the judge,” he said.
The renewed enforcement is already having impacts on the road.
Since the order went into effect on May 20, the Georgia Department of Public Safety issued 83 violations to drivers who did not meet English proficiency standards. The cited truck drivers cannot get back on the road until they can pass the test.
Changes in the trucking industry also come as the Trump administration takes steps to reshape immigration policy, expanding deportations and increasing funding for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Some immigrant drivers, when asked about the English proficiency requirements, were hesitant to talk. Some asked if a reporter from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution was actually a government official.
“It’s bringing a lot of depression and anxiety and all that to the driver,” said Hassan.
Industry experts acknowledged the complexities of the English proficiency requirements, but emphasized the importance of safety.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Seth Millican, president and CEO of the Georgia Motor Trucking Association, said there’s no empirical data indicating a correlation between English proficiency and driver qualifications. The language requirements improve communication between drivers and law enforcement and transportation inspectors.
“In our experience, language barriers pose a challenge not so much in driver capability or proficiency, but in the level of communication required to understand and cooperate with regulators and authorities who are working to enforce safety standards like hours of service, equipment readiness, etc.,” Millican said.
U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican who represents Georgia’s 10th Congressional District and owns Collins Trucking Company, doubled down on that sentiment.
“This is purely a safety issue. The motoring public deserves to know that the commercial drivers they share the road with can comprehend our laws, communicate with law enforcement, and read emergency signs and notifications,” Collins said. “Instead of relying on individuals broadly unsuited for our roads, we should invest in our trades and trucking programs to build the next generation of truckers that will lead the industry in safety and efficiency.”
Hassan’s primary concern was for experienced drivers who have devoted large portions of their lives to trucking and only have minor violations — if any violations at all.
“If somebody is a bad driver and he has a bad record, that’s OK,” he said. “But somebody with 20 years of experience, there’s no point of telling him, ‘I’ll take your license away, go back to school, learn English.’”
Hassan was troubled by potential ripple effects on families who depend on trucking as their primary source of income.
Even drivers who agreed with the importance of functional English proficiency raised concerns about the threat to their livelihoods.
“Speaking English, reading, understanding is the basic for me,” said Bahiru Zenebe, who was born in Ethiopia and has been driving since 2017.
Drivers have to know the language to operate safely, he said.
“Let’s say the traffic (sign) says yield,” he said. “If it says yield, you have to yield.”
Still, Zenebe worried about how requirements would be enforced and what it could mean if he was taken off the road. The way one police officer treats an immigrant driver may not be the same as another officer, he said.
“One police officer, the way he’s asking me, the way he treats you, it is not the same (as) the other one,” he said. “If I lose this driving license, I say, ‘What’s my plan B?’ I don’t have it.”
Hassan said a lot of drivers who are concerned about the new requirements are changing their schedules to drive through the night to avoid inspections.
“I know some people (are) still working, but they really worry a lot,” he said. “Some of them, they changed their schedule just to avoid it because they’re not sure if they’re going to pass or not.”
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